This, he said, had indirectly helped in positioning Johor as the number one investment destination in Malaysia, ahead of Penang and Selangor.

In a statement released here in conjunction with the visit of Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak to PTP Thursday, Mohd Sidik said that in 2005 about 33 per cent of the total foreign direct investments (FDIs) in Malaysia was invested in Johor compared to only 23 per cent in Penang.

He said companies such as Flextronics, CIBA Vision, JST & Cameron International had opted to locate their operations at PTP.

"These manufacturing facilities have not only contributed to Johor's FDI but also in the creation of more job opportunities for locals," he said.

Mohd Sidik added that these four companies alone would provide jobs to more than 20,000 people in PTP's vicinity and directly stimulated economic activities in southwest Johor.

He said PTP's continued growth would create more spin off developments in southwest Johor, such as the upcoming export orientated industries at Nusa Jaya.

"Simultaneously, it will encourage infrastructure investments and expedite development for the Pontian district, especially for industrial and residential development," Mohd Sidik said.

PTP, he said "is very relevant to the government's Ninth Malaysia Plan to develop South Johor into a Logistics Hub."

Mohd Sidik said the government's decision to designate the surrounding areas of PTP to be developed into international petrochemical centres, a maritime industrial centre, a regional bunker supply centre and national load centre would see a speedier implementation due to the already existing excellent facilities that PTP already has.

He said PTP's future expansion would take into account the transformation of Johor to be the premier logistics centre in the region.

PTP, the international gateway of the southern region, has been experiencing rapid growth over the past five years, proving itself as a successful regional distribution hub and trade and logistics centre. Its Phase 2 expansion programme is currently ahead of schedule.

PTP's Phase 2 development plans started in 2002 and this saw an additional eight berths being planned to add 2.88 km of quay length to increase the port's container handling capacity.

The first two berths under the Phase 2 expansion project were completed in 2004 while two more berths are currently undergoing the final phase of commission.

Mohd Sidik said the location of PTP at the southern tip of peninsular Malaysia and at the confluence of the east west trade lanes going into the Melaka Straits made PTP a very strategically located port.

"Shipping lines should really look at PTP to make it their hub to serve not only the South East Asia region but other parts of the world," he said.

Mohd Sidik said the development of PTP was in sync with the federal and Johor state governments' vision to develop PTP as the southern region's load centre and cargo hub.

He said investors should really look at PTP as they had the option to build their own facilities or to lease ready-built facilities.

PTP's Free Zone, he said, was a very attractive place to invest as it offered competitive lease rental rates for land and building.

He said there should not be any difficulty for investors as PTP had a one-stop agency set up to assist with start up operations and interface with the relevant government agencies.

"The ease of doing business at PTP will help attract more FDIs to our Free Zone," he said.